Playground
by 9E-tan
Summary: Because we were all children once... That playground, that age, holds a special memory to us all. So why wouldn't it be any different for the Vongola Guardians? AU fic
1. Migrating Birds Part I

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.**

Genre: AU Friendship/ Family/ Comfort

Pairing: None. This is a fanfic in order to bring out the hidden sympathy our cold-hearted' Katekyo bishies have… And it'd be creepy if you can pair up little 7-year-olds with a 17 year old. That's a ten year difference, people.

Hahi! This is a collection of one-shots that I felt like writing… It's nothing much but a scenario of younger children who encounter the Vongola Guardians in their life… and experience the bit of kindness the world has to offer. I'd be thankful if people would guide me in creating good OCs and keeping the Katekyo cast in character. Well then, that is all, and I sincerely hope you will enjoy Moya-chan's most recent chapters!

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Migrating Birds

(Part I)

The playground is full today. Yuu-chan wants to join too. Yuu-chan is finally in Junior Kindergarten, and he now knows how to ride the tricycle to the neighbourhood playground.

That's what Yuu-chan wished he could say.

Yuu-chan doesn't have legs. Mama told Yuu-chan to be a good boy, and stay in the house. That's funny- it's not like Yuu-chan can go outside alone anyway. Yuu-chan can't steer the big chair-thing easily all the way to the playground. But he can still hear the laughter of his classmates.

"Yuu-chan! Mama's home and she brought you your favourite snack!"

Mama's finally here. She holds out a steaming bag of taiyaki before him, her face broken into a bright smile. Mama is happy. Yuu-chan knows it's because Papa had good results from work today. Mama only smiles when she sees green paper. What is so good about pieces of flimsy paper? The sound of laughter, the falling snow brings a smile to his face. Yuu-chan sometimes wonders if Mama ever smiles because she sees Yuu-chan. He doubts it though. Because whenever there is mail, she frowns as she reads 'hospital fees'. What is a fee? Yuu-chan only knows they do not make Mama happy at all.

Yuu-chan looks at the window, reaching up to move the curtain. Mama places a hot taiyaki into his hands before they reach the blue fabric- and she smiles once again. But Yuu-chan isn't stupid- he knows that Mama isn't happy anymore.

"Let's share the delicious taiyaki together before it gets colder, all right, honey? Come on, Yuu-chan, let's go to the dining room!" She pushes the big chair with wheels, and he goes along on it. Yuu-chan is, after all, just a bird with broken wings. He cannot migrate to the warm weather if the harsh winters strike home.

* * *

Mama is worn out from last night. Yuu-chan couldn't take his naptime, because Mama and Papa's laughter was too noisy. All he knows is that Mama's breath smelled nauseating and horrendous, and that she kept laughing. But it was not a good laugh. Yuu-chan knows.

Right now, Yuu-chan's mama is not waking up from her nap. Neither is Papa. Yuu-chan smiles, because he knows that they will not wake up until very late. It gives him enough time to taste the outdoor air.

* * *

Very quietly. Like a mouse, his Kindergarten teacher once said. Like a mouse on the night of Christmas. So Yuu-chan holds his breath and carefully unlocks the heavy knob on the front door. It opens, and Yuu-chan smiles in joy. He pushes at the wheels beside his big chair thing. Mama calls it a wheel-chair. But it's not a wheel-chair- it's a big chair that can move him everywhere. So Yuu-chan will call it his wings.

His wings move quietly. It is hard work to push down the wheels, to move his wings to where they want to go. But the journey to warmth is always hard; Yuu-chan feels stronger as he inches nearer to the neighbourhood park.

There it is! Yuu-chan spots the intersection. But that is strange- why aren't the children laughing and playing? Yuu-chan pushes down his wheels faster, because he is curious. He winces as his fingers get caught beside the metal bearings- Mama will find out that Yuu-chan hasn't stayed inside. She will not be happy.

Yuu-chan is about to cross the intersection. He sees in front of him a very tall, frowning male. He has messy black hair- unlike his Papa's short cut. The man is wearing a black jacket on his shoulders. That is strange- it is fall, and even Yuu-chan finds it cold. Why isn't the man wearing his jacket properly?

The man is glaring at Yuu-chan. He is scary! Yuu-chan finds the man intimidating. The man twirls out two metal rods before him. "Hurry up and cross the road, weak herbivore." He demanded, making Yuu-chan startled. Weak herb…hermibore? Hermibore? What is a 'her-mi-bore'?

The man glares at Yuu-chan and swings his metal rods towards Yuu-chan's head. Yuu-chan is trying! He pushes the wheels faster to cross the road. By now, the entire playground is quiet, because Yuu-chan has arrived. One by one, the uneasy children pile out of the sandbox, jump off of the monkey bars, walk away from the swings and slides…

Because a broken winged bird will damage the flock. It is okay- Yuu-chan is fine playing by himself. It is, after all, what he had been doing for the last five years.

* * *

Yuu-chan is very tired by now- his hands are all wounded and scarred from pushing his metal bearings. Flying is very tough, especially when your wings are heavy. It is like using bricks to fly, when you don't have legs. His fingers are swollen- just like every time he escapes towards the warmer temperatures. But everyone has already left by the time he arrived, so Yuu-chan is left alone.

Yuu-chan turns around to see the male yawn. "Weak herbivores have stopped crowding." He turned to glare at Yuu-chan again. What did Yuu-chan do to make him so angry? "Get lost before I bite you to death."

Something tells Yuu-chan that this man is not a liar. But… Yuu-chan's arms are tired.

He shall leave after he rests his arms, he tells the man.

The man is silent. Personally, Yuu-chan is glad. There are people who avoid him, or make pitying noises and pretend to be Yuu-chan's friend. Like a caged bird, with people sticking their fingers through the bars to pull at the clipped wings. Mama says that even without wings, the bird will not die. Yuu-chan knows, though. No one can live without their wings.

The man beside Yuu-chan doesn't express pity- more like he doesn't care. But Yuu-chan is fine with that- it is better to be ignored.

It is beginning to darken, and the sun makes a red glow in the sky. It is beautiful, and Yuu-chan is glad he came out today. The days become shorter, after all.

He hears a group of birds fly across the sky, forming a V-shaped line as they beat their wings. The man beside Yuu-chan stirs, raising his hand to mask a yawn again. He turns to look at Yuu-chan. "Herbivore. Curfew is at 7:00p.m for weaklings... If you don't go home, I'll bite you to death." He raises his metal rods. Yuu-chan nods- of course, he must get home before Mama and Papa find out. He raises his hands to push them down the wheel again, setting out back home. The creaking noises of his shifted weight make a steady rhythm as he rolls towards his home.

* * *

Mama woke up the next morning. She has a very bad headache, and said she needed to go to the hospital. Papa is out at work once more. Yuu-chan is home alone again.

Because Mama took the keys with her this time, Yuu-chan decides to do some research. The large dictionary is heavy in his frail arms, but he opens it after some time.

_Tonfa- an Okinawan weapon usually made of oak and requires dexterity of hand movements to manipulate. They are commonly used by the police force. _

The man at the crossroad uses tonfas. Did that mean he was the police? Yuu-chan doesn't know, but one thing is for sure- the man is strong. Strong, silent, and stable.

He turns the pages until he reaches the word- herbivore. A grass eating animal that is preyed upon carnivores. Carnivores- meat eating animals that prey on herbivores.

Yuu-chan feels he learned a lot today.

* * *

Well then, dearest readers! That is the first part of Migrating Birds! For those who are confuse about the two-shot, it is about a 7-year-old boy who has lost both limbs because of an accident. His name is Yuuta, but because the story is told in his point of view, and children often refer to themselves in third-person...

I'd appreciate any ideas for the next OC that you'd like to put, and a Vongola Guardian. (I'm not so confident if I can do well, but please bear with me, and feel free to coach me along the way.) So, please stay tuned for the next chapter!


	2. Migrating Birds Part II

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!**

Hey! I'm so sorry for the late update, but here's the conclusion of Migrating Birds! w Somehow, my account didn't open for an odd reason- I think someone hacked into it. It's not the first time though- but I'm glad I could finally update the ending of the story. (And yes, you can hit me for being such a bad updater… T.T But I didn't mean it!) Thank you for all those who took interest in this chapter, as well as those who offered your ideas in upcoming chapters. I will make sure to incorporate them into my story. For now, please enjoy the rest of Migrating Birds!

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Migrating Birds Part II

"Yuuta Tachibana. Where have you gone while Mama was sleeping?" Mother's voice has an edge of coldness that Yuu-chan hates to hear. It is the warning, the menacing storm clouds that are tinted with green, foretelling a disaster that was to follow. And nothing could ever, ever stop it.

Yuu-chan knows this, of course- just how many hits had he received from his mother before? It was like the storms that a bird flock faces on its journey to the warmth of the South- hail, harsh winds that buffet the wings and tire a bird. Nature is harsh, and deems the strongest survive.

Mother's aging face, lined with many creases from worry, wears a haggard, furious expression as she nears Yuu-chan with a broken wooden bat. "How many times have I told you not to go anywhere?" She raises her stick, and delivers a solid blow on Yuu-chan's thigh. The pain- it is unspeakable.

What is this… hurt? This… sharp jab that seemed to eat him from the inside out. Yuu-chan wearily raises his hand towards his chest, because it seems to hurt a lot. There's a tight feeling at the back of his throat, but he's not so sure what it is. Another solid whap landed, this time on Yuu-chan's back. A sharp crack was heard, along with a few more splinters created from the impact of the old bat connecting with Yuu-chan's back.

More pain. More sadness. More emptiness. If Yuu-chan lost his wings, then he received plenty more than what he had lost.

The only difference was, Yuu-chan didn't know whether it was a good thing or not.

There is a lock by the door this time. Yuu-chan's mother's eyes are bloodshot. They stare at him, like the monster that would forever haunt him at the back of his mind during his sleep.

"Stay here, do you understand? Next time, I won't be so forgiving." Her ragged voice cracks as she holds that wooden bat, trudging off to her workplace as she locks the bat and door. Yuu-chan stares long after Mother's freshly pressed blouse and sleek, black pants. Her brown leather bag hung on her shoulder, swinging from side to side as she ran towards the bus stop, waving at the bus driver to catch the bus. Mother's second life begins once more; the one where she smiles and acts very, very nice.

But Yuu-chan doesn't like that side of Mother. He wants Mother to stop acting. He wants Mother to stop drinking that horrible acidic, rank liquid that she gulps down like a greedy hog after a day's work. He wants Mother to stop coming home late, and for her to stop tearing at her hair at everything Yuu-chan does. Like Yuu-chan's existence brought down the entire family.

Yuu-chan looks back at the feet of his broken chair-thing. It's not like he wanted these useless limbs. It wasn't like he wanted to be forever stuck at the ground, staring mournfully at the sky where everyone else was flying.

Yuu-chan bites his lip, because now he can't use his fake wings to get to the playground again.

He knows, of course, that his steps must be drastic if he needs to get to the place he wants. It was do or die, like they said.

Crawling from the floor, Yuu-chan places his hands before him, dragging his body forward. Place hands, one and two. Pull at three. _One, two- pull. One, two- pull._ And the cycle repeats. Beads of sweat roll down Yuu-chan's forehead, and he has barely reached the cat door of the house's exit.

It takes some time until he can raise his dirtied hands to the flap of the cat door, lift it, and nudge his small head though the small opening. His entire body twists as he strains his arms to pull himself out of the hellhole he lives.

Ah! His shoulders finally made through, and the rest of his body followed soon after. Yuu-chan places his hands on the granite surface of the neighborhood road, and winces from the pain. Lots of stones are hurting his small, fragile hands.

It hurts- not as much as Mother's beatings- but it still hurts so very much.

It doesn't matter though.

As long as he can reach that warm place that promised his safety, it is worth it.

* * *

The sun begins to set, its orange glow causing a splash of warmth in the sky. Shades of purple creep across the velvet curtains of the coming night.

The road seems empty towards the direction of the playground. Yuu-chan can hear the joyful sounds of his classmates' laughter and the giggles of those he wanted to be with.

Yuu-chan smiles, you see, the small line of his lips cracking into a shy smile. His hands are bloody by now, and he barely has the strength to crawl across the other side of the road to get to his haven. The playground.

Yuu-chan laughs inside. Why would a playground be so important when Yuu-chan can't even run around to feel the grains of sand against his feet, nor run with the other children in a hectic game of tag?

The reason remains unknown and confusing.

Before him, the red slides and wooden swings start becoming hazy. His vision is getting fuzzy. Yuu-chan tries to squint to see better, but he can't focus anymore.

_One. Two. Pull._

_One._

_Two._

There is a slight rumbling on the concrete road. Yuu-chan sees the small asphalt pebbles shake and bounce lightly. The screech of the car's tires, the panicked yell, the frantic honk of the horn….

Yuu-chan's small hands are shaking in front of him. He is almost there- he can feel the playground within the reach of his fingers! So close…

And yet, he could have never gotten far in the first place, he knows. No bird could survive the tough journey of migration without its wings.

His eyes open unsteadily once more to catch the gaze of a wide-eyed man- the man who wield metal tonfas and is the carnivore of the playground.

Did you know? Carnivores eat weak herbivores.

Yuu-chan smiles one last time. Was this the feeling of falling from the sky, knowing that one would die?

Still, it was worth migrating towards the warmth of his haven…

…Chasing the blood-stained clouds in his effort to reach the promised lands.

* * *

Well… Yes, I'm so sorry… I actually didn't mean to turn this into a tragedy, but something nagged me into writing this. I think it's my first attempt at a long tragedy ending… I need more work. T.T I'm sorry if the horrible writing causes you to lose interest in this fanfiction… I did try my best though.

Putting that aside, I hope that you could enjoy Yuu-chan's short life. I am currently aiming at giving life to various ocs who will not be Mary-Sues. I would appreciate any ideas (such as foreign twins entering Namimori w) Thank you for reading so far, and hope to see you next chapter! Feel free to comment on anything you feel dissatisfied, or perhaps would like to see continued in the next chapters.


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